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The Tale of Amor and Psyche in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. Literary lectures. The main line of the literary criticism of the last quarter of the XIXth and the first quarter of the XXth century was that of a philologic exclusivism in framing and analyzing the tale of „Amor et Psyche” from Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. As for the Metamorphoses’ structure and meaning, the narrative forms of the ancient novel are not proper „literary genres”, the ancient narrative forms not fitting in the modern terms and categories. Despite its allegorical and symbolical meanings, the tale remains a species of the Milesian narrative, an alternative theory facing the criticism guiding line of the end of the XIXth century. Nonetheless, interpreting the tale in a allegorical-philosophical key would be abusive if we think about Apuleius literary craftmanship, while excluding it would be imprudent.

Keywords: Amor et Psyche, Metamorphoses, Apuleius, fabula Milesia, ancient narrative, Greek novel, Platonic myths, ritual